News

The Cross Country season kicked off on Saturday with a return to Teardrop Lakes in Milton Keynes. The weather was sunny if a bit windy and ground conditions were good underfoot with a distinct lack of mud but the hills did pose a challenge especially for the older age groups that had to contend with the giant hill (multiple times).

It was a great turnout for the club with 34 athletes taking part many making their official cross country debuts, well done to:

U12s: Flynn, Owen, Thomas, Georgina, Amelia

U14s: Oscar, Archie, Jack, and Tommy

Senior Ladies: Emily and Gemma

Everyone who turned up and raced should be proud as every position counts and we finished the day with some great results. Several of our teams secured top-3 finishes and there were some incredible individual performances:

● U14 Boys: 1st Place (Kieran 2nd)

● U18 Ladies: 1st Place (Imogen 3rd)

● U16 Boys: 3rd Place (Will 1st in Div 2 and 3rd overall)

● U20 Men: 3rd Place

● U14 Girls: 3rd Place (Katie 2nd)

● Individual 3rd U12 Girls Flora

A big thank you to Adam for his hard work in organising the teams and keeping everything running smoothly. Thank you as well to all the parents who gave up their time to volunteer. We really appreciate your support.

All detailed race times and standings can be found on the Chiltern League Website.

The next event is at Oxford on the 14th November. Don't miss it, the course is legendary.

Bethany, who looks after the PB awards at the club, would like to share this message;

"Congratulations on a successful season. Before the club championships on Sunday, the club wanted to remind everyone that PB awards are available when anyone achieves a PB
When you get a PB email the email address below and make payment of £1.50 to the club by BACS (same account as track fees) and then a certificate will be brought to training and a coach will present it to you. The email address to send your PB to is PBawardssnhac@gmail.com"

Six SNHAC teams took part on the , always superb, 3k road relays at Fairlands Lakes . Each team consists of 4 members each running a 3k loop of the park before handing on to the next runner. After the women took home a medal in the county championships last year this time it was the turn of the men's A team of Tommy, George, Aubrey and Isaac to win bronze medals. All 24 SNHAC runners ran great legs and as always a big thank you to Fairlands Valley Spartans for organising the event.

The first match of the SAL season got under way at Peterborough. The small team on paper showed great team spirit and work ethic to claim 4th place, with maximum points for officials. Big thanks to our officials Paul Pickard, Helen Pickard, Sarah Berry, Sally Stevens, Mike Gregory, Jane Taylor, and Bob Whitten. Shannon Rapacchi marked return from injury with wins in A-string PV and shotput, while Isaac Whitten won the men’s A-string 3000m Steeplechase. Elsewhere, Libby Taylor won B-string shotput, Skye Barnett B-string 100mH, and Enid Whitten B-string hammer. In the men’s throws, Ed Turner and Milan Snarskis took a healthy haul of points, with Libby Taylor and Shannon Rapacchi doing the same in the women’s. There were debuts at SAL level for Kamilah Adebayo and Laurena Hawkins in the women’s sprints, while Hugo MacFarlane-Cushing and Rowan Roach competed in the men’s, both taking 3rd in the 100m, the former setting a PB of 11.31 early in the season. Martina Barber competed in the A-string 100m and LJ. Owen Watkins competed in the men’s 5000m, clocking 16:35:51. Team manager Rhys Samuel fought off injury and inexperience to PB in the HJ, thanks to some quick coaching from Norma Harris.

There were no 4x400 relays; however, the ladies 4x100 side consisting of Skye Barnett, Kamilah Adebayo, Laurena Hawkins and Martina Barber claimed 3rd in the 4x100. The men’s 4x100 team of Rowan Roach, Rhys Samuel, Owen Watkins and Nile Odejimi-Riley took 1st place – impressive for a team consisting of one sprinter, one jumper, one 5k runner and one injured person!

The teamwork didn’t end there – there was a big team effort to release the team bus from the coach park at the end of the day! A big thanks to Milan, Hugo, Nile, Paul, and Rhys for their efforts in finally getting the gate open; to everybody on the bus for their support, Jacob Cawthorne (Vivacity) for staying well over 2-hours beyond his shift to co-ordinate assistance, and to our driver Keith for his patience!

Congratulations to Jasmine who ran her first London Marathon yesterday in a time of 4 hours and 4 minutes.